Omar TURCIOS

Omar Alberto Figueroa Turcios was born on 24th September 1968 in Corozal, Sucre – Colombia. In 1978 his family moved to Barranquilla, where he graduated at El Colegio San Judas Tadeo. In developing of his talent helped him also La Academia de Marcel Lombana in Barranquilla. He published his first cartoons in newspaper El Heraldo and in Diario del Caribe. In 1990 Turcios moved to Bogotá and published his cartoons in many periodicals (El Tiempo, El Espectador, El Nuevo Siglo, Semana, Acento, Cambio 16, Cromos and Wall Stress). He studied also at the National School of Cartoons. In 1990 he got his first award at the International Competition Cafam in Bogota. Since then Turcios participated at numerous cartoon competitions and reached about 70 major awards in many countries (Spain, Cuba, USA, Brazil, Portugal, Italy, Mexico, China, Greece, etc). Let us mention some of them: Gold Medal – Ancona, Italy, 1995, 1st Prize – Tehran, Iran 2003, 1st Prize – Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2006, 1st Prize – Patio, Brazil 2009, 1st Prize – Boston, USA 2010, Gold Medal, China 2012. Personally, however, he appreciates most personal awards which he received: title “The Famous Son” of his hometown Corozal and the song “El Caricaturista”, dedicated to his life and work composed for the Chanclet Studio in Barranquilla. In 1998, Turcios traveled to Spain, where he received offers to work for Spanish periodicals. He settled in Alcala de Henares, where he lives and works till these days. Worked for El Mundo, La Razon, Diario de Alcala, El Economista and Punta Media. He was awarded the title “Honorary Professor of Humour” at the University of Alcalá de Henares. He published his book “En un lugar de la Mancha”. Artworks of Omar Turcios have been exhibited in numerous individual and collective exhibitions in many countries of the world.